By Any Means Necessary
by Atolm2000
Summary: Gaiden A study in what Kenren's done to justify his position of General, besides being a pain in the ass to his higherups.


And I attack Gaiden! Pre-Goku's arrival, actually Pre-Nataku's appointment as Toushin Taisho; just a little study in how Kenren keeps such a high rank with as much of a pain in the ass as he seems to be.

A few notes before I start - Demon's actually a fairly bad translation of the word "Youkai"; in traditional usage, it meant more of "Anything supernatural, not from heavens/hells or such, not undead, usually innately that way, could be good or bad depending on individual and species", so actually has its closest analogue-in-English with the pre-Victorian meaning of the word "Faerie". The closest equivalent to the usual concept of "Demon" is "Akuma"; they're not from the mortal plane, and are quite different creatures from youkai - consider them relatives of the fiends Kougaiji summons. The Yamarajas referred to once or twice are the Lords of the Underworld, or the Hell Kings depending on who's writing. As Saiyuki itself is often an unholy mesh of Chinese and Japanese folklore, so is this such a tangle. The Kami/Immortals/Gods seem to draw more on the Chinese end, so following suit here; not all of the Kami are native-born, there's a fair number in the myths and folklore that're "ascended mortals" who gained immortality and were promoted, or were brought into the Heavens and given an immortal body after death, and not all of those are human. The White Sparrow Mandarin is from an older folktale of how the current Jade Emperor received the throne; as a mortal the previous Jade Emperor had tried to get rid of him, but he'd been warned each time by a white sparrow he'd saved from an injury and nursed back to health, so that when the Jade Emperor known to us took the throne, he brought the sparrow and all of his relatives to the Heavens with him.

* * *

The door to his office opened and shut unheard. Konzen wasn't distracted from the endless review of paperwork until a small, quiet voice said, "I apologize for my intrusion, Konzen-douji." He looked up just in time to see the White Sparrow bow formally, accentuating his small frame, loose white hair shifting around his face, pale pink eyes downcast in the bow; silver and white silk robes draped neatly, with a simple jade pendant hanging around his neck, the characters of his office etched into the delicate pale stone.

He set the papers aside and folded his hands on his desk, bowing his head in reply. "Your presence is an honor, not an intrusion, Mandarin." It wasn't much of a trial, to keep up courtly manners when he had honest respect for the person he was dealing with. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"The Western Army has sent word that they have attained victory and finally brought an end to the fighting with the Fire-Flower clan of Akuma; it was the Jade Emperor's wish that Kanzeon Bosatsu oversee the finalization of the treaty and its terms."

Just the kind of figurehead bureaucratic work she hated; going to sign papers over a defeated people, half sealed into relics to be handed to the Yamarajas and forgotten about. Konzen wasn't fond of it either, the times he'd been stuck with it; the Akuma may've been dangerous, and most hated the Kami with a passion, but there was still something sickening about watching creatures that proud treated as animals, especially when many of them stubbornly refused to be broken. "Is she being difficult enough that I should attempt to help talk to her?"

"Ah, after a fashion, she left this note." The White Sparrow handed Konzen a slip of paper. It was written in neat, clipped script.

_Gone to the mortal world on errands.__ If something important comes up, I name Konzen as my legal proxy for this time._

Konzen wanted to slump over his desk and mutter creative names for his beloved aunt, but it would've been unseemly in front of the Mandarin, who outranked him, so he only allowed himself a slight shift toward slump and tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I have already talked to the servants about collecting your things and bringing them to the gates; we can depart whenever you are ready. I apologize for the short notice."

Konzen waved off the apology. "It's no fault of yours, Honored Mandarin." Standing, he arranged the papers on his desk, covered the inkwell, and doused the one narrow candle. "I am prepared to leave whenever you see fit."

They were met at the gate by a handful of the Imperial Guard, assured that anything needed for the overnight was already through the gate, then escorted through in procession. There was a moment, through the gate, of a sort of absence of everything, a null beat, then they were on the other side, in one of the no-man's-land realms squabbled over by the Akuma clans.

The first thing Konzen noticed was heat; the air was a dry, thick blanket heavy over everything. The sky was covered over with roiling dark clouds and ash, the gate had opened on a sort of extending bridge over a flow of lava. The river of lava ran like a moat over the entrance to a valley of black rock, the Akuma city half-carved, half-grown out of the basalt, rivulets, streams, and pools of lava scattered throughout.

One of the two guards there to meet them wore the black and silver of the Heaven's army. The other was twice Konzen's height, in red-enameled black armor with a rose made of flames emblazoned on the breastplate; three red eyes gleamed in the broad horned skull, spines off the back flowed into "wings" of flame, a long tail supported a bladed stinger wreathed in flames, and clawed hands held a halberd whose blade was probably as big as Konzen's body. The Imperial Guard did a remarkable job at not showing reaction, but Konzen almost subconsciously took a half-step back; he could only imagine what it was like for the Mandarin, only two thirds Konzen's size and easily as frail, who he was aware of somewhere just behind him. The Akuma grinned amusement at the delegation's confusion. The Kami soldier bowed formally; the Akuma followed suit, albeit oddly, unaccustomed to the gesture.

"The Western Army and the Fireflower Clan apologize for not being able to show you a proper welcome; we weren't expecting you until tomorrow morning."

The Mandarin recovered quickly, returning the bow. "The apology is ours, for not giving more warning. The Jade Emperor merely wished to bring this long period of fighting to a close, and thought it easier to get through the reviews if we arrived somewhat early." The unspoken questions attached to the Akuma being part of the welcoming guard hung unvoiced.

"We can lead you to the Great Hall where the General and Field Marshall are, unless your Graces would prefer to see your rooms for the night first?" The officer - one of the General's Aides, from his insignia - didn't seem accustomed to the formalities, but seemed to be in a good mood in spite of any nervousness at dodging through them.

"I think an introduction to the commanders would be preferred. Konzen-douji?"

Konzen started out of the odd not-quite-staredown with the Akuma, who'd been bemusedly studying him as much as he'd been looking up at it, trying to process if he was in any danger or not. "Ah, yes; it would be best to touch bases before anything is drawn up or considered too deeply."

"Very well then. This way." The Aide bowed again, then turned and walked off; the Akuma paused, glanced between them and the Aide, then just followed, leading the way and slowing its pace to match that of the Kami. The entourage, Imperial Guard and all, followed behind quietly, every one of them trying not to show exactly how thrown off by this development they were. The tents and structures of the Heaven's Army were mixed in among the Akuma buildings, and both seemed to be in high spirits, hovering somewhere between a cautious separation and an odd relieved curiosity. The juxtaposition was more pronounced around the huge, living-rock structure of the Akuma great hall, where the officers and leaders of the two sides seemed to be mingling more than the troops. More than one campfire or cook-pit had Akuma and Kami alike in the circle around it, and at one point they even passed a loose ring of troops from both sides cheering and calling at a surprisingly good-natured sparring match, the verbal jabs passing back and forth competitive to be sure, but less hostile than would've been expected of two races that were supposed to be natural enemies.

The Aide bowed to the Imperial Guard, who stepped out to form two lines along either side of the two huge double doors; the Akuma guard rapped the halberd on the ground, and the doors ground open.

Konzen and the Mandarin followed the two guards through the Great Hall's doors and into a raucous feast. The lighting was dim, odd crystalline growths in the walls flowing with lava providing the lighting, and turned the din of voices and movement into a disorienting miasma of black, black and red, flashes of black and silver and white. The doors ground shut behind them.

By the time Konzen had adjusted to the noise and the lighting enough to make sense of his surroundings, the Aide had returned, trailed by two other figures in uniform. Well, mostly; one stood straight, seemed to have a pool of a vague semblance of calm around him, long brown hair hanging back while the lava light flashed off his glasses. The other's jacket hung open, and he kept a half-step behind the other, wobbling just visibly enough to tell that he'd probably had quite enough to drink; there were some tell-tale bruises that he didn't seem to be paying any heed to, his face a loose, smug Cheshire grin to the other's controlled amusement.

The drunk was the one that stepped forward and sketched through a bow, looking them over as he did so. "Damn, you guys are early. The Goddess busy or something?"

"Or something.", Konzen answered dryly, not allowing any lapses in composure.

"I see you're in your usual form, General Kenren.", the Mandarin added, resignation coloring the politeness.

"Wouldn't have it any other way. C'mon; the Matron was looking forward to meeting you, and we can go over everything over dinner."

Kenren turned on one heel and led the way to the head of the long, squared off set of three tables that formed a long U in the hall, where two seats had been set out - if they'd been added, the Akuma had done a job of making it look like they'd been there all along - in front of the head of the table, where one of the Akuma that was actually a good foot taller than the rest sat across from them. The Aide and the Akuma guard had vanished somewhere in the hall, while the Field Marshal returned to his own seat on the demon's right; Kenren paused before taking his chair. "Matron Hikiri, I present the White Sparrow Mandarin and - uhm -"

"Konzen-douji.", the Mandarin filled in, 'why me' coloring the resignation; Konzen guessed that not only was this typical of Kenren, but that the Mandarin had dealt with these eccentricities before.

"Right. Konzen, Mandarin, Matron Hikiri of the Fireflower Clan." Another, even sketchier bow, and the General sat down, leaning on the table and pulling over his briefly abandoned drink.

"Then you are Shang Ti's representatives to oversee the treaty?", the Akuma rumbled, a voice of pipe organs and grinding earth faults.

"Yes. We are." Konzen bowed his head with the words.

"We welcome you with the full hospitality of the Fireflower Clan, and I will personally promise your safety whenever you are within our territory."

"We thank you for your kindness, Matron. I'm afraid that the reports that reached the Heavens were short; reports from out here are sketchy at best usually, and the missive that the fighting was over was similarly incomplete." The Mandarin's nervous glances every which way, shaky pokes at the unfamiliar fruit on his plate, belied the caution of his words - fish for details without insulting the hosts, without referencing how these things normally went.

"It was simple, really." Neither Kenren nor the Matron seemed surprised that the Field Marshal finally spoke up; the Mandarin blinked warily. "It had struck us as odd in the first place, since before the border squabbles the Fireflower Clan had never been any trouble; on further investigation, we learned that the reason they were pushing into our outposts, was that the Rising Flood clan - our mutual enemies - had been pressing them back, expanding their power base from a position out of our reach. The level of mistrust on both sides made attempts at contact difficult, so when the Jade Emperor's decision reached us, that the fighting had continued long enough and we were cleared to use any means necessary within reason-", usually a cue for an alliance with the Yamarajas, who didn't care about killing, since the Toushin Taisho's post was empty - "We managed to open communications and arrange something amenable to both sides, that would ease cooperation against the Flood clan." The Marshall paused, distantly. "We've taken on a team of Fireflower warriors under our direct command as a gesture of alliance, while the Fireflowers will host a scout outpost here, with the Matron in a position of command, since she knows this area far better than any officer we could send; that way, it will be ensured that both sides are in contact and sharing information, and we'll be better able to predict and react to threats in this region." Konzen also noted that if things went wrong, there was something of a mutual hostage pact inherent in the "trade".

There was a moment of odd silence as the Courtly representatives processed the full implications. In the recorded history of the Heavens, reaching back even before the tenure of the current Jade Emperor, it almost never happened that there were vaguely civil relations between the Kami and the Akuma clans, much less an alliance. The Akuma were chaotic, unpredictable, alien, with each clan having their own customs and laws, and none of them brooked outside authorities.

And on the side of the 'official business', Kenren was having an animated discussion with what looked to be one of the higher-ranking warriors.

"Of course, with the terms as they stand, it would be both awkward and unfair to expect unfamiliar representatives to come here, and the Matron has already discussed with us the awkwardness of sending representatives of her clan to court, so as the treaty stands, it would seem to be simplest and most feasible for those of us here, who are known equations to both sides, to be the official go-betweens, to represent the Kami here, and the Fireflower clan in the Heavens - would your Graces mind terribly being included in that aspect of the treaty, for clarity's sake and to ensure there's always someone available?" And to throw off suspicions of a power play, if the Mandarin who had the Emperor's ear since Shang Ti was mortal and a representative of Kanzeon Bosatsu both signed to it. At the same time, they were both in a diplomatic trap; refusal would likely throw off whatever the General and Marshall had worked out, restart the fighting, and Konzen did not relish the idea of explaining that to the Imperial Court. A flicker in the Mandarin's calm smile hinted that he was having the same train of thought himself.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure to see an end to this unnecessary bloodshed, Field Marshal Tenpou." There was an ever so slight hint to the Mandarin's voice that promised that any attempt at manipulating the agreement or attempting something underhanded through it, would be regretted.

The Marshall and Matron turned their gazes to Konzen; three alien red gleams, and a flicker of green under lenses obscured by the lighting. He closed his eyes, not allowing it to unnerve him. "It will be well worth it, if this treaty will strengthen the defense of the Western region."

Tenpou's quiet smile widened slightly, and the Matron nodded approvingly. There was a swift change in reaction to the two courtiers throughout the Hall, as if they'd passed some test of acceptance and were suddenly to be treated like natives. For once, Konzen found himself utterly out of his element in regards to protocol, stumbling through customs he knew nothing of with standards of what was polite that were completely unfamiliar. It was the first time in centuries he'd been faced with never knowing when he'd make some slip that'd start a conflict, and he was left with few choices besides following the leads of the two officers where he could, and just praying where he couldn't. For all that the Akuma seemed to have much more relaxed standards of etiquette, he felt like he was drowning compared to the formalized courts of the Kami and Yamarajas. And yet, compared to what he'd been expecting…

Somewhere during the feast, after the mistake of a toast with whatever the Akuma brewed, he'd actually commented to Kenren, "Somehow, an alliance was the last thing I expected to be reviewing out here."

The first response was laughter. "Hell - you guys in the court were the ones that said to get this solved 'by any means necessary'."


End file.
